Lincoln by-election, 1973
Encyclopedia
The Lincoln by-election of 1 March 1973 saw the re-election of Dick Taverne
as Member of Parliament
for Lincoln
as a Democratic Labour
representative, after Taverne's pro-Common Market
views saw him repudiated by the Lincoln Constituency Labour Party
. It is the most recent example of a sitting Member of Parliament successfully standing for re-election when they change political allegiances during a Parliament. The by-election led to considerable speculation, stoked by Taverne, about the formation of a new centre party, but Taverne was unable to make his victory last.
had first been elected in Lincoln at a previous by-election
in 1962. His selection then had been controversial as the shortlist had been restricted to three supporters of Hugh Gaitskell
in order to stop a left-wing candidate winning; a group of left-wingers led by Leo Beckett had walked out of the selection declaring that the three were "all of a kind". The left-wing faction soon gained ground in the local party although no moves were made against Taverne.
When the Labour Party went into opposition after 1970, tension between the Member of Parliament and his local party soon grew up. In January 1971 Taverne threatened to denounce Don Gossop, district secretary of the AUEW
engineering trade union, if Gossop called for strike action against the Industrial Relations Bill
.
which called upon all Labour MPs to oppose. At the conference, Leo Beckett called for a "vote of no-confidence against Mr Taverne if he votes in the Tory lobby"; however, less than a month later Taverne broke the Labour Party whip to vote in favour of accepting the terms and joining the European Common Market.
's World in Action
which broadcast a programme on 25 October showing Taverne being confronted by his opponents; Leo Beckett and Don Gossop were said to have "emerged with badly scarred reputations". However, at a special meeting of the General Management Committee of the local party on 16 November a motion expressing lack of confidence in Taverne was narrowly passed. Taverne was briefly saved on 6 December when the motion (which had to be passed by two successive meetings) saw a tied vote and the party executive's motion to not take any further action was approved.
Through 1972 the left gained further ground in the local party and in June they made another move. Taverne organised an opinion poll in the Lincoln constituency which found that 71% said he was right to have voted in accordance with his own views rather than those of his local party, and 79% approved of him as their MP. However, the poll failed to persuade the local party, and at a meeting on 19 June Taverne was "asked to retire" by a vote of 75 to 50. Taverne insisted that he would appeal to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee
.
and to stand in the resulting by-election as a "Democratic Labour" candidate. He was immediately backed by a poll commissioned by London Weekend Television
which found 49% of Lincoln voters were most likely to vote for him, 16% for the Conservative Party, 14% for the official Labour Party candidate, with 2% for others and 19% undecided.
Taverne's appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead
did not take effect until 16 October. As he had been a Labour Party MP, the timing of the by-election was up to the Labour Party Chief Whip, Bob Mellish
, who declared his preference to wait until the new year. Taverne appealed for a polling day before Christmas. Liberal Party chief whip David Steel
considered intervening to 'move the writ' for the by-election, which provoked Mellish to threaten "open warfare".
Lincoln Labour Party shortlisted six candidates as part of the selection of official candidate. They were David Winnick
, who had been MP for Croydon South
, Gerald McNamara, brother of Hull North
MP Kevin McNamara
, journalist Max Madden
, lecturer Joshua Bamfield, engineer Robert Dixey, and John Dilks who was leader of Derby
City Council and a management executive with the Derby Cooperative
Society. The selection eventually went to Dilks.
The Conservatives considered three candidates: Desmond Fennell, a Lincoln
-born barrister, Robert V. Jackson
, a journalist, and merchant banker Hon. Jonathan Guinness
who was chairman of the Monday Club
on the party's right-wing. Guinness eventually won the selection, which helped the party neutralise the effect of Simmerson's candidature but caused difficulties. It was claimed in The Spectator
that the local party regarded Guinness as tiresome and put little effort into campaigning, reasoning that a Taverne win would cause problems for the Labour Party, although doubt was cast on whether this was an accurate impression.
There was a dispute within the Liberal Party
over whether to stand. Senior members of the party sympathised with Taverne and wanted the party to withdraw in his favour. Peter Hain
, chairman of the Young Liberals
, demanded a Liberal candidate stand in opposition to Taverne "who stands on the right of the Labour Party and whose record shows no signs of radicalism". The party eventually decided not to fight, but its success at the Sutton and Cheam byelection
in December 1972 led to increased pressure to stand. Eventually the local party's decision not to fight was endorsed.
The candidates list was rounded off with two minor candidates, Jean Justice and Malcolm Waller. Justice, son of a Belgian
diplomat and a London property consultant, was chairman of the A6 Murder Committee. The committee's aim was to prove the innocence of James Hanratty
who had been hanged in 1962 for the murder of Michael Gregsten. In the mid-1960s, Taverne had served as a Home Office
Minister and rejected a plea for a public inquiry into the case. Malcolm Waller formed the "Majority Rule Party" which argued that "the will of the majority of the people shall prevail, even when it conflicts with the will of members of Parliament". A Mr James Blackwell from Cheshire
also telephoned the Returning Officer to ask for nomination papers but did not arrive.
members to speak in support of John Dilks, described by The Times
as "probably unequalled in any byelection". Taverne, by contrast, organised only one meeting at which others spoke in his support, to which he invited the Bishop of Southwark
Mervyn Stockwood
and newspaper columnist Bernard Levin
.
Dilks insisted that he would campaign on issues like inflation
, the future of Lincoln, and the EEC, and predicted Taverne would come third. Guinness' campaign was marked by his maverick public statements, and he had to be "protected" by planted questions at a public meeting. He came to be treated as a joke figure by the media, being much quoted when he said that convicted murderers should be given razor
blades in order that they could "do the decent thing" and save the state the cost of keeping them in jail.
The campaign saw extensive coverage in the press and on broadcast media. On 22 February the Daily Telegraph reported the results of an opinion poll which showed Taverne had a lead of only 2% over the official Labour candidate, well within the margin of error. However, two opinion polls published on the day of the byelection found Taverne had a substantial lead. Taverne also benefited from strong support from the Lincoln Weekend Chronicle, while the Lincolnshire Echo reported neutrally and did not make an endorsement.
"to play a truly democratic role in changing the course of British politics". In the snap general election
the following February, the Campaign managed to nominate five candidates, specifically targeting Labour left-wingers; they hoped that the Liberal Party would not stand, but this was in vain and the candidates performed poorly. Taverne himself only narrowly retained Lincoln in a close three-way result, and in the October 1974 election
the seat was gained by Margaret Jackson
for the Labour Party.
Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne
Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne, QC, is an English politician, who is one of the small number of members of the British House of Commons elected since the Second World War who was not the candidate of a major political party...
as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Lincoln
Lincoln (UK Parliament constituency)
Lincoln is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
as a Democratic Labour
Democratic Labour
This party is not to be confused with any of the other Democratic Labour partiesDemocratic Labour was a minor political party operating in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. They were formed by the Labour MP, Dick Taverne when his Constituency Labour Party asked him to stand down as their candidate...
representative, after Taverne's pro-Common Market
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
views saw him repudiated by the Lincoln Constituency Labour Party
Constituency Labour Party
A Constituency Labour Party is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular UK parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide Constituency Labour Party...
. It is the most recent example of a sitting Member of Parliament successfully standing for re-election when they change political allegiances during a Parliament. The by-election led to considerable speculation, stoked by Taverne, about the formation of a new centre party, but Taverne was unable to make his victory last.
Background
Dick TaverneDick Taverne, Baron Taverne
Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne, QC, is an English politician, who is one of the small number of members of the British House of Commons elected since the Second World War who was not the candidate of a major political party...
had first been elected in Lincoln at a previous by-election
Lincoln by-election, 1962
There was a by-election in the UK parliamentary constituency of Lincoln on March 8, 1962 following the resignation of the sitting member, Geoffrey de Freitas....
in 1962. His selection then had been controversial as the shortlist had been restricted to three supporters of Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell CBE was a British Labour politician, who held Cabinet office in Clement Attlee's governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955, until his death in 1963.-Early life:He was born in Kensington, London, the third and youngest...
in order to stop a left-wing candidate winning; a group of left-wingers led by Leo Beckett had walked out of the selection declaring that the three were "all of a kind". The left-wing faction soon gained ground in the local party although no moves were made against Taverne.
When the Labour Party went into opposition after 1970, tension between the Member of Parliament and his local party soon grew up. In January 1971 Taverne threatened to denounce Don Gossop, district secretary of the AUEW
Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union
The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union was a British trade union. It merged with the MSF to form Amicus in 2001.The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the "Old Mechanics" of 1826, which grew into the Amalgamated Society of Engineers in 1851...
engineering trade union, if Gossop called for strike action against the Industrial Relations Bill
Industrial Relations Act 1971
The Industrial Relations Act 1971 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, since repealed. It was largely based on proposals outlined in the governing Conservative Party's manifesto for the 1970 general election...
.
European issue
On 5 July a committee of the local party voted to send to the annual Labour Party conference a motion highly critical of the application to join the European CommunitiesEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
which called upon all Labour MPs to oppose. At the conference, Leo Beckett called for a "vote of no-confidence against Mr Taverne if he votes in the Tory lobby"; however, less than a month later Taverne broke the Labour Party whip to vote in favour of accepting the terms and joining the European Common Market.
Moves to deselect Taverne
Attention was drawn to the escalating row by Granada TelevisionGranada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
's World in Action
World in Action
World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
which broadcast a programme on 25 October showing Taverne being confronted by his opponents; Leo Beckett and Don Gossop were said to have "emerged with badly scarred reputations". However, at a special meeting of the General Management Committee of the local party on 16 November a motion expressing lack of confidence in Taverne was narrowly passed. Taverne was briefly saved on 6 December when the motion (which had to be passed by two successive meetings) saw a tied vote and the party executive's motion to not take any further action was approved.
Through 1972 the left gained further ground in the local party and in June they made another move. Taverne organised an opinion poll in the Lincoln constituency which found that 71% said he was right to have voted in accordance with his own views rather than those of his local party, and 79% approved of him as their MP. However, the poll failed to persuade the local party, and at a meeting on 19 June Taverne was "asked to retire" by a vote of 75 to 50. Taverne insisted that he would appeal to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee
National Executive Committee
The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, Constituency Labour Parties,...
.
Announcement of resignation
On 6 October Taverne announced his intention to resign his seatResignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
and to stand in the resulting by-election as a "Democratic Labour" candidate. He was immediately backed by a poll commissioned by London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
which found 49% of Lincoln voters were most likely to vote for him, 16% for the Conservative Party, 14% for the official Labour Party candidate, with 2% for others and 19% undecided.
Taverne's appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead
Manor of Northstead
The Manor of Northstead was once a collection of fields and farms in the parish of Scalby in the North Riding of Yorkshire in England. By 1600, the manor house had fallen into disrepair and was occupied only by a shepherd. At present the Manor is part of the Barrowcliff area of the town of...
did not take effect until 16 October. As he had been a Labour Party MP, the timing of the by-election was up to the Labour Party Chief Whip, Bob Mellish
Bob Mellish, Baron Mellish
Robert Joseph Mellish, Baron Mellish, PC was a British politician. He was a long-serving Labour Party MP and served as the Labour Chief Whip from 1969 until 1976 but in his later years he fell out with his local Constituency Labour Party which had become dominated by left-wingers, and eventually...
, who declared his preference to wait until the new year. Taverne appealed for a polling day before Christmas. Liberal Party chief whip David Steel
David Steel
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1976 until its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats...
considered intervening to 'move the writ' for the by-election, which provoked Mellish to threaten "open warfare".
Candidates
After Taverne himself, the first candidate to declare was Reg Simmerson, chairman of "Democratic Conservatives Against the Common Market", who said that as Labour voters would have the choice of pro- and anti-EEC candidates, Conservative voters should have the same choice.Lincoln Labour Party shortlisted six candidates as part of the selection of official candidate. They were David Winnick
David Winnick
David Julian Winnick is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Walsall North since 1979....
, who had been MP for Croydon South
Croydon South (UK Parliament constituency)
Croydon South is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, Gerald McNamara, brother of Hull North
Kingston upon Hull North (UK Parliament constituency)
Kingston upon Hull North is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
MP Kevin McNamara
Kevin McNamara (politician)
Dr. Joseph Kevin McNamara, KSG is a British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament for almost 40 years.-Early life:...
, journalist Max Madden
Max Madden
Maxwell Francis "Max" Madden is a British journalist and Labour Party politician.Madden was elected as Member of Parliament for Sowerby at the February 1974 election, which he lost to the Conservatives in 1979....
, lecturer Joshua Bamfield, engineer Robert Dixey, and John Dilks who was leader of Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
City Council and a management executive with the Derby Cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
Society. The selection eventually went to Dilks.
The Conservatives considered three candidates: Desmond Fennell, a Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
-born barrister, Robert V. Jackson
Robert V. Jackson
Robert Victor Jackson is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1984 and Member of Parliament for Wantage from 1983 to 2005, having been elected as a Conservative; however, he joined the Labour Party in 2005.-Early life:He was raised in...
, a journalist, and merchant banker Hon. Jonathan Guinness
Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne
Jonathan Bryan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne is a British peer and businessman. A member of the Guinness family, he is the elder of the two sons of Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne and his first wife Diana Mitford , and until his retirement was a merchant banker for Messrs Leopold Joseph.-Early...
who was chairman of the Monday Club
Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
on the party's right-wing. Guinness eventually won the selection, which helped the party neutralise the effect of Simmerson's candidature but caused difficulties. It was claimed in The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
that the local party regarded Guinness as tiresome and put little effort into campaigning, reasoning that a Taverne win would cause problems for the Labour Party, although doubt was cast on whether this was an accurate impression.
There was a dispute within the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
over whether to stand. Senior members of the party sympathised with Taverne and wanted the party to withdraw in his favour. Peter Hain
Peter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
, chairman of the Young Liberals
National League of Young Liberals
The National League of Young Liberals , often just called the Young Liberals, was the youth wing of the British Liberal Party. It was founded in 1903 and by 1906 it had over three hundred branches. In 1934 it called for David Lloyd George to lead a Liberal New Deal revival based on the Yellow Book...
, demanded a Liberal candidate stand in opposition to Taverne "who stands on the right of the Labour Party and whose record shows no signs of radicalism". The party eventually decided not to fight, but its success at the Sutton and Cheam byelection
Sutton and Cheam by-election, 1972
The Sutton and Cheam by-election of 7 December 1972 was held after Conservative Member of Parliament Richard Sharples was appointed Governor of Bermuda. In a defeat for Edward Heath's government the seat was taken by the Liberals. This was the second Liberal gain during the 1970-1974 Parliament,...
in December 1972 led to increased pressure to stand. Eventually the local party's decision not to fight was endorsed.
The candidates list was rounded off with two minor candidates, Jean Justice and Malcolm Waller. Justice, son of a Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
diplomat and a London property consultant, was chairman of the A6 Murder Committee. The committee's aim was to prove the innocence of James Hanratty
James Hanratty
James Hanratty , a petty criminal with no history of violence, was the eighth-to-last person in the United Kingdom to be hanged after being convicted of the murder of Michael Gregsten at Deadman's Hill on the A6, near the village of Clophill, Bedfordshire, England, on 23 August 1961...
who had been hanged in 1962 for the murder of Michael Gregsten. In the mid-1960s, Taverne had served as a Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
Minister and rejected a plea for a public inquiry into the case. Malcolm Waller formed the "Majority Rule Party" which argued that "the will of the majority of the people shall prevail, even when it conflicts with the will of members of Parliament". A Mr James Blackwell from Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
also telephoned the Returning Officer to ask for nomination papers but did not arrive.
Campaign
The writ for the byelection was issued on 9 February, with polling on 1 March; two other writs for byelections in Labour-held constituencies were moved simultaneously. The Labour Party pulled in a large number of senior shadow cabinetShadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
members to speak in support of John Dilks, described by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
as "probably unequalled in any byelection". Taverne, by contrast, organised only one meeting at which others spoke in his support, to which he invited the Bishop of Southwark
Bishop of Southwark (Anglican)
The Bishop of Southwark is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark in the Province of Canterbury.Until 1877, Southwark had been part of the Diocese of Winchester when it was transferred to the Diocese of Rochester...
Mervyn Stockwood
Mervyn Stockwood
Arthur Mervyn Stockwood was Anglican Bishop of Southwark from 1959 to 1980.Mervyn Stockwood was born in Bridgend, Wales, to a middle-class family. His solicitor father was killed during the First World War. He was introduced to Anglo-Catholic worship at All Saints' Church, Clifton, which...
and newspaper columnist Bernard Levin
Bernard Levin
Henry Bernard Levin CBE was an English journalist, author and broadcaster, described by The Times as "the most famous journalist of his day". The son of a poor Jewish family in London, he won a scholarship to the independent school Christ's Hospital and went on to the London School of Economics,...
.
Dilks insisted that he would campaign on issues like inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
, the future of Lincoln, and the EEC, and predicted Taverne would come third. Guinness' campaign was marked by his maverick public statements, and he had to be "protected" by planted questions at a public meeting. He came to be treated as a joke figure by the media, being much quoted when he said that convicted murderers should be given razor
Razor
A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of unwanted body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, disposable razors and electric razors....
blades in order that they could "do the decent thing" and save the state the cost of keeping them in jail.
The campaign saw extensive coverage in the press and on broadcast media. On 22 February the Daily Telegraph reported the results of an opinion poll which showed Taverne had a lead of only 2% over the official Labour candidate, well within the margin of error. However, two opinion polls published on the day of the byelection found Taverne had a substantial lead. Taverne also benefited from strong support from the Lincoln Weekend Chronicle, while the Lincolnshire Echo reported neutrally and did not make an endorsement.
Results
After such a highly publicised campaign, voter turnout was almost up to that in the previous general election. When the result was announced in the early hours of 2 March, it was clear Taverne had been vindicated:Aftermath
Taverne's majority was generally regarded as a shock, and was said to have shocked Taverne himself. In September 1973, he announced the formation of the Campaign for Social DemocracyCampaign for Social Democracy
The Campaign for Social Democracy was a minor political party operating in the United Kingdom in the 1970s.They were formed in September, 1973 by Dick Taverne, who had resigned from the Labour Party, after falling out with his Constituency Labour Party over the European Economic Community.He had...
"to play a truly democratic role in changing the course of British politics". In the snap general election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
the following February, the Campaign managed to nominate five candidates, specifically targeting Labour left-wingers; they hoped that the Liberal Party would not stand, but this was in vain and the candidates performed poorly. Taverne himself only narrowly retained Lincoln in a close three-way result, and in the October 1974 election
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
the seat was gained by Margaret Jackson
Margaret Beckett
Margaret Mary Beckett is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and briefly serving as Leader of the Party following Smith's death...
for the Labour Party.